Five things you should know before starting your work day on May 3

Good morning! Shari Kulha here, with the latest top business stories. As it happens, everybody’s looking for pennies, somehow, some way. Suncor is wringing last drops from ongoing projects rather than starting new ones; the banks are hiking mortgage rates, while homeowners worry about paying for them; and some airlines are entering a mobile “secret fare” war to best their rivals. Tesla, meanwhile, had a truly terrible quarter.

HOP ON BOARD

Air Canada and WestJet are among six airlines offering secret fares on a mobile app, with up to 35 per cent discounts. Hopper deals won’t be seen by online search engines such as Google. Hopper plans to add another six airlines soon and predicts the U.S. big four will get on board because of the “closed” selling environment. Users set a search for destination and price range, or opt for a destination and price suggested by the app’s algorithm.

RATE GAMESMANSHIP

Mortgage rates at the Big Six banks have diverged following TD’s bold hike to 5.59 per cent. There’s now a 45-basis-point difference on five-year fixed-term loans at Scotiabank and BMO versus the rest of the group. That’s a much wider gap than is typical, and some rates can still be had for an unadvertised 3.39 per cent.

RATE ANGST

Interest rate angst is most severe for homebuyers in Ontario and B.C., where even a modest hike in rates is a concern in Toronto and Vancouver. As Naomi Powell reports, about 47 per cent of outstanding mortgages will need to be refinanced this year. Some 53 per cent of home buyers in Ontario and 51 per cent in B.C. will conduct personal “stress tests” to see whether they’ll be able to financially manage higher rates.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF IT

Suncor Energy is powering through the pipeline crisis. While CEO Steve Williams won’t begin any new projects, he is wresting more oil from recently completed developments. And as Geoffrey Morgan reports, Suncor has enough pipeline capacity to ship it all, even through next year’s expected production increase of 10 per cent. But it’s not all good news: First-quarter earnings were off 42% year over year.

TESLA TOUGHS IT OUT

Tesla posted its worst-ever quarterly loss yesterday, which deepened to US$709.6 million for the first quarter. Its Model 3 production target apparently remains on track, but its low production numbers for the quarter exacerbated Tesla’s cash burn as it continues to spend on its assembly line and prepare for new investments.